Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque in a Palestinian village in the central West Bank overnight, defacing it with hateful messages as an act of defiance. The mosque in the Palestinian town of Deir Istiya had one wall, three copies of the Qur’an, and some carpeting torched when visited by an Associated Press reporter on Thursday.
Graffiti messages such as “we are not afraid,” “we will revenge again,” and “keep on condemning” were left by the settlers on one side of the mosque. The Hebrew writing, referencing Maj. Gen Avi Bluth, the chief of the military’s Central Command, was challenging to decipher. The Israeli military confirmed sending troops to investigate the incident, with no suspects identified yet. The case is being handed over to the Israeli police and security agency for further investigation.
This recent attack on the mosque is part of a series of violent incidents that have drawn attention from top officials, military leaders, and the Trump administration. Israeli authorities have attributed the settler violence to a small group of extremists, while Palestinians and rights organizations argue that the violence is widespread across the territory and carried out with impunity under the current far-right Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Following a brazen attack by masked Israeli settlers on Palestinian villages of Beit Lid and Deir Sharaf, Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the violence as “shocking and serious,” emphasizing the need for decisive action by all state authorities to address the issue. The Israeli army’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, echoed Herzog’s sentiments, stating that such violent acts go against Israeli values and distract forces from their mission.
Settler violence has been escalating over the years, with the mosque in Deir Istiya previously targeted by settlers in 2012 and 2014. The surge in violence has been particularly concerning, with October recording the highest number of settler attacks in the West Bank since monitoring began in 2006. Palestinians claim that the violence aims to displace them from their lands, with thousands already affected by settler violence or access restrictions.
Netanyahu’s government has emboldened settlers to expand beyond existing settlements into new outposts, known as “young settlements,” encroaching on Palestinian territories. Critics accuse the Israeli army and police of failing to prevent settler attacks, with a high percentage of cases ending without indictment. The lack of accountability has fueled tensions and further complicated the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.